Knit a square in a square - "Square Borders"

by Rebecca Lawrence
(El Cerrito, California, USA)

The general idea is to knit your 8"x8" square with a 1" Garter Stitch (st or sts) 'frame' around the inside edges. (Imagine a photo frame, 8X8, with no picture in it.) The only requirement for using this pattern is the ability to do the Knit and the Purl sts (to make the center of the square in Stocking Stitch).

To begin: Follow the "Knitting Instructions" in the link from the home page thru item 3.

(That is: Using the weight of wool & needles suggested in the above, cast on 32 sts.) Knit every row (Garter St) for 1".

At 1" from your cast-on, begin the next "Change Row" as follows: Knit as many sts across as will make 1" (note down that # of sts), Purl across the rest of the row, stopping when you have reached the same number of sts that you had to knit to get 1" at the start of row. Change to Knit st, finish row.

Note: Sounds worse than it is, really!
Example: Count how many sts it takes you to knit 1" along a row by using the 1" of garter st knitting you've just done; not everyone will have the same number. So, if it takes you 5 sts to knit 1" across, on the Change Row, Knit 5 sts, Purl the next 22 sts, Knit the last 5 sts that will be waiting for you when you've purled 22! (Why 22? In this example, start with 32 sts, take away the first 5 border sts plus the last 5 border sts = 22. 32-(5+5)=22)

Next Row (after Change Row), you're setting yourself up to do most of the rest of the square in Stocking Stitch. So: Knit X # of your border sts, Knit the next # of your center sts, Knit X # of border sts. Yes, I could've said, knit the whole row, but it helps to think in terms of X border sts, X center sts, X border sts. The rest is a doddle, really!

Continue as follows, til you've knit 7" of square: If the last two rows I just described are Row 1 & Row 2, continue Rows 1-2 til you've knit 7", like so:

Row 1 = Knit X, Purl 32-(X+X), Knit X (K border, P center, K border)
Row 2 = Knit X (border), Knit X (center), Knit X (border)

At 7 inches, with 1" to go: Knit all rows, all stitches, as you did at the start, for just one row (or your yarn's width) less than 1", leaving that fraction's bit of space to Bind Off, so your square stays square.

Fun? I hope so. I've knit so many squares for so many causes, I started making up things part-way thru just to vary the sts! Like: Do the borders in different colors that the center; use all-garter stitch & switch yarns often to vary texture & color; using this same K/P, Garter to Stocking Stiches, knit in initials or a simple picture - it will show up in the texture, as the center square stays separate from the borders in this pattern. Do 5 rows in Garter, then 5 rows in Stocking st, and so on, til you've 'ribbed' 8". If you're really good, run cables down the center, or in several places. (Make adjustments in what you cast on to keep the square 8X8.)